You shouldn’t pick up an adult cat by the scruff. While mother cats carry kittens this way, it doesn’t translate safely to grown cats. An adult cat’s body is too heavy for the scruff alone to support, and veterinary organizations including the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) explicitly state that lifting or suspending a cat’s body weight by the scruff is unnecessary and potentially painful.
Why Scruffing Works on Kittens but Not Adults
When a mother cat grabs a kitten by the neck, it triggers a reflex called pinch-induced behavioral inhibition. The kitten goes limp, curls its tail under its body, and becomes passive. Research shows this reflex reduces activity in the brain’s higher functioning areas and lowers the nervous system’s stress signals, which suggests the kitten isn’t in pain during transport. It’s a survival mechanism: a still, quiet kitten is easier and safer to move.
Adult cats can still show a version of this reflex. Gently pinching the scruff may cause some cats to become still and slightly subdued. But there’s a critical difference: kittens weigh a few ounces. An adult cat weighs 8 to 12 pounds or more. That weight hanging from the loose skin at the back of the neck can strain muscles, cause discomfort, and even injure the cat. The reflex itself also becomes less reliable with age, so some adult cats will struggle, scratch, or panic rather than go still.
What Veterinary Experts Say
Professional opinion on scruffing falls into a spectrum, but the consensus leans strongly against it as a routine practice. Some veterinarians and behaviorists never scruff cats at all, finding that gentler techniques are less stressful, safer for everyone, and give the cat a sense of control. Others reserve scruffing only for genuine emergencies, like preventing a panicked cat from escaping into traffic or stopping an aggressive cat from injuring someone. The ISFM’s expert panel goes furthest, stating that scruffing should never be used as a routine method of restraint and should only happen when there is truly no alternative.
No professional guideline supports lifting a cat off the ground by the scruff alone. Even in the rare situations where a vet might grip the scruff for control, the cat’s body weight is always supported from below.
How to Properly Pick Up a Cat
The goal is to support the cat’s weight in two places: the chest and the hindquarters. Start by placing one hand under the cat’s chest, just behind the front legs. Then slide your other hand under the back legs or rump. Lift gently and bring the cat against your body so it feels secure. Most cats relax when their weight is fully supported and they can feel something solid against their side or belly.
A technique the ASPCA recommends is the “football hold,” where the cat rests along your forearm with its body tucked against your side, similar to how a running back carries a football. Your forearm supports the cat’s full weight, and bracing it against your torso adds stability. If you need more control, you can rest your free hand loosely on the back of the cat’s neck, ready to hold gently if the cat starts to squirm. This gives you a similar level of control to scruffing without putting any strain on the neck skin.
For cats that don’t like being picked up at all, try crouching down to their level first. Let them sniff your hand. Stroke along their back before attempting a lift. Quick, unexpected grabs from above mimic how a predator attacks, which is why many cats panic when someone reaches down and scoops them up without warning.
When a Scruff Grip Might Be Acceptable
There is a narrow set of situations where gently gripping the scruff makes sense, but only while simultaneously supporting the cat’s weight with your other hand or arm. If a cat is thrashing during a medical procedure, a loose grip on the scruff can help steady it. If a frightened cat is about to bolt into danger, a quick hold on the scruff can prevent escape while you get your other arm underneath.
The key distinction is gripping versus lifting. A hand on the scruff for brief control, with the cat’s body fully supported, is very different from dangling a cat in the air by its neck skin. The first can be a reasonable safety measure. The second causes pain and fear, and no situation at home requires it.
Signs Your Cat Is Uncomfortable Being Held
Cats communicate discomfort clearly if you know what to look for. A stiff body, flattened ears, a rapidly swishing tail, dilated pupils, or growling all mean the cat wants to be put down. Ignoring these signals teaches the cat that being picked up leads to feeling trapped, which makes future handling harder. If you put the cat down the moment it shows early signs of stress, it learns that it has some control over the interaction, and over time, many cats become more tolerant of being held because they trust that they can end it.
Some cats simply prefer not to be carried. That’s a personality trait, not a behavior problem. For these cats, keeping all four paws on the ground and interacting at their level is a better approach than trying to find the “right” way to pick them up.